


The Vagabond

by SapphyValentine



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Faith of the Seven, Feminist Themes, Historical Inaccuracy, Introspection, Modern Westeros, Multi, Philosophical Questioning, Reincarnation, Religious Conflict, Sentient God(s), Slow Burn, They/Them/Their pronoun usage, gender neutrality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-05 00:09:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6681607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphyValentine/pseuds/SapphyValentine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been a millennia, and the Faith of the Seven is a dying religion. To renew the world's belief, the Seven Who Are One is separated into seven human beings, each representing the different aspects of the Faith.</p><p>These seven humans will be forever reincarnated, tasked with converting people until the Faith is once again the dominant religion. </p><p>—</p><p>Enter Sansa Stark, a young woman just now realizing who she is, or rather, what she is a part of. How will she cope with her own conflicting ideology? Having met only five of the other six  "faces," will she ever find the last of them, the Stranger?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking tons of creative liberty with this story, and will be attempting to convey deeper themes of religious and philosophical contention, in the sense that characters will be highly introspective in ideology.
> 
> Jaqen/Sansa is a rare pairing, but I think ~~hope~~ it'll work in this situation. This will also be a personal challenge for me because I will be using they/them/their pronouns for a character, though I think the end result will be a beautifully inclusive story that represents people who are not usually included in fanfics, especially with romantic themes.

* * *

 

_The Faith of the Seven was no longer considered a religion by nearly all of humanity._

This revelation was met by the Seven-Faced God with a hollowing despair, for it seemed so sudden.

_Inherently omniscient, a God still knows little of the passing of time, nor of the evolution of human thought._

The Seven Who Are One, therefore, decided drastic change needed to be made. Searching the globe, the God of Seven found humans who exemplified the seven faces of the Faith. Through these humans, the God of Seven decreed, the Faith would return.

But a sacrifice must be made. The sacrifice was the loss of omnipresence, as the Seven would not only work through humans, but live _in_  them. 

From various corners of the world, the Seven Who Are One merged with each human.

The Seven Who are One became the seven, and it was then that the mission began.

∞

In the beginning, the seven humans were perfect; conversion was a simple affair, for society was not globally developed and people lived in constant fear of the unknown. The Faith held an appealing promise, and many found solace in it. The God of Seven had a vast amount of power over the human counterparts, and through them was able to open the minds of many.

Over time, however, that power began to fade. Unbeknownst to the God of Seven, the humans were beginning to form thoughts of their own, thoughts that were not pious and in reverence to the Faith.

When the God of Seven realized this, it was almost too late to exert control over the humans– their minds were growing too strong, too defiant. So the God presented a poison pill: if the humans did not maintain their integrity, they would be shunned from the realm of the Seven Heavens, never to live in the glory of the Faith.

This worked well; the humans increased their efforts with the Seven-Faced God guiding their actions. Not one stepped out of line, and all were devoted wholly to the God that lived in them.

Until now.

 


	2. Golden Waves

Sansa Stark never questioned who she was. That, she knew. But she had always wondered  _why._

When she was younger, her mannerisms, her innocent nature, her obsession with being good and chaste, seemed to extend to beyond the level of her mother's teachings. Sure, Catelyn Stark was nothing if not a perfect wife and mother, but her daughter was different. Sansa was almost  _too_ perfect. 

No one knew that this was intentional.

Because inside, Sansa hated it. She hated this unconscious obligation to be obedient to the will of propriety. She hated being called innocent. It was another word for ignorant.

Yet, it seemed as if it was in her nature to be this way, and while Sansa cursed it, she "was who she was," according to every patronizing adult she had ever met. She smiled through it all the same, because while she could not pinpoint why she feared rebelling against her role, she knew it was wrong. And so, she continued the façade of being the perfect, innocent girl all the way into adulthood. 

Now, at twenty-one, she felt like she was already missing out on what life had to offer. Her eighteenth birthday had come and gone, and now the twenty-first, with no wild parties or spontaneity to show for it. Instead, she had stayed at home with a small group of friends, her mother and father present the entire time. It felt...right, yet it also felt wrong.

It felt like they were all actors in a play, and this was a show. A show for who? Or what? Sansa did not know, though she had long suspected that her mother and father knew something that she didn't. The Stark family dynamics had always felt profoundly synchronistic, even though they had never had to do any "family bonding." No, the bond was already there; however, an outsider might see them as caricatures of the average family unit.

"Sansa," her mother called from the kitchen, "don't forget you have class tomorrow."

With a smile to her friends, Sansa gracefully rose from her seat on the sofa and called back, "Of course, mother. We were just cleaning up."

Sansa glanced at her wristwatch. It was only 11:00 PM. In her mind, she screamed and screamed and screamed.

Turning to the small gathering of not-so-close friends, she politely thanked them for their company and bid them adieu. As they left, she caught a few whispers.

_Sansa is so good. So obedient. So innocent._

When they were all gone, the small presents put away (jewelry, colorful kitchenware, a nice blouse), Sansa made her way to her room, the same one she'd had since childhood. There was a small bird figurine on her dresser from years ago, and Sansa approached it, staring as if seeing it for the first time. After an indeterminable amount of time, she suddenly smashed the figurine with a raw force she didn't know she possessed. Blood dripped down her hand, and Sansa felt an almost feverish giddiness.

For the first time that evening, a real smile appeared on Sansa's face. _I am no longer afraid._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters will become longer and more introspective. It's finals week, but I wanted to post a little something to set up the story a bit more.


End file.
